Waxing, Waning
by carved in the sand
Summary: When Karin was sixteen, she knew that they would have no one but each other. It just took Toshiro a bit longer to figure it out. Medival!AU/HitsuKarin


**A/N:** _Edited as of 12/24/14._ _Yes, a medieval!HitsuKarin AU! I'm hype. There might be a bit of an age gap, which I am unerringly fond of for some reason, but that's cool, because canon wise he's decades older in the first place. And my Coffee Stains readers knoooowwww I love older Hitsugaya. It's just. It's a thing. I love the thing. Now go on and read. The poem - "the 'i like you' poem" - is by Warsan Shire. Please enjoy. _

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if you gave me  
>half a moon of a chance<br>i would  
>kiss the incisors<br>out of your mouth, clean  
>and hold them in my<br>own, like chippings  
>from an old mug<p>

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He was fourteen when he met the princess for the first time.

It was a sunny, bright kingdom, with more trees than people, with ridiculously smiling faces, with warm weather that had him shedding the white fur of his thick winter cloak long before he'd entered their territory. The Southern Kingdom - Karakura - was a far cry from his own mountainous, snowy home. He and his entourage, a small blizzard among a southern forestry, stuck out more than he'd wished to as they traveled. Yet Toshiro still remained in his carriage, for propriety if nothing else. The heat was not so forgiving, but the breezes were cool and pleasant, swaying his hair and the leaves and loose rocks on the dirt roads as he and his procession traveled.

But the dirt roads shifted into a hard brick, and finally into a lacquered marble as the gates of the palace came before him in all it's glory. The crown prince was already there, reaching out a hand to clap a rough hand on his shoulder, asking about starting their work after dinner so they could properly duel tomorrow. There was a grunt of an agreement, shared insults, boisterous laughter, and dribbled small talk on the struggling economies of the western provinces. The whites of his teeth were shining against the sunlight and the orange of his ridiculous hair was as ridiculous as ever.

He'd visited Karakura months before, in the winter when war was just beginning to brew and for the first time since he'd been coronated, he needed allies. Toshiro was a young king, a coronation at seven and making enemies as fast as he conquered new land.

So he'd went after a legend of men - the crown prince and his kingdom of the southern provinces were incredibly powerful.

Yet...the Grand Prince was supposed to be a ruthless warrior and skilled swordsman. Not an _idiot _who thought they were_ friends. _

Either way, Hitsugaya was dismounting his horse and following the idiot into his home like he'd done so a thousand times before, boots hitting against the thick marble floors with a quiet echo.

After he and his procession settled into guest rooms and changed, Ichigo led him into the dinning room, where several others were already seated. It was a grand hall, seemingly miles long as they made their way from one end of the table to the other. The walls were a dark, rich green with gold tapestries hanging from the high ceilings. The three chandeliers hanging from the He slipped into the head place, with his father to his right and an empty space to his left. Hitsugaya took it graciously.

"Karin-chan is late once again," Ichigo's father drawled in pure misery, making the white haired boy raise a suspicious brow.

Ichigo was rolling his eyes as soon as the name came out. There was still a hint of clear amusement on his face. "Isn't she always?"

"We have a _guest_!"

"Like she'd give a shit."

It was Hitsugaya's turn to roll his own eyes. "I grow weary of your vulgar language, Kurosaki," he ground out, raising his glass of wine to his lips and cocking a brow at the orange haired teenager. He took a long drink and let his glass down. Ichigo smirked.

"Oh, I do apologize for making you uncomfortable," Ichigo replied sarcastically. "Would you prefer I speak of your recent knitting endeavors as well?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes generously.

The conversation shifted once more, the king turning suddenly serious as he spoke to his son about different agricultural endeavors. The food was brought out, and he was brought more wine, and the voices around him turned happily boisterous as everyone began to eat. He didn't notice the sudden silence as the doors opened loudly to the very far end of the dining room.

"Finally!" Ichigo said aloud, interruping his father and raising his glass high in the air as soft footsteps approached to his right. Toshiro turned to see the figure stop in front of him.

"Miss me, brother?" the girl said coyly, raising one dark brow at the prince.

The girl was young, short, looking close to his age. Her hair was thick and black and short, falling just below her ears in an asymmetrical cut that parted to the side, giving her face a sharper look. She had impossibly pale skin, dark eyes with half moons of light reflecting off of them, and pink lips pulling into a half sneer. Her dress was a vibrant green that cinched tightly at the middle and flared at the waist that fell past her ankles in a short train. Her sleeves were long and tight, cinching at her elbow and wrists. Behind her, two hand maidens followed her steps with lowered heads and folded hands.

A thick, gold necklace with a bright red ruby inlaid in the center, fell against her collarbone, matching the young orange-haired man sitting across from him. The mark of a royal, Toshrio mused to himself.

"Like a plague," Ichigo replied caustically, mirth twinkling in his eyes.

She scoffed aloud, but her eyes fell on Hitsugaya, a slow up and down gaze as she slid into the seat beside him, leaning into her seat and placing a wrist elegantly at the edge of the table. Her gaze lingered at the silver diadem and that sat at his head and her lips finally settled into a smirk that made her look much older than the girl that had walked before him with a calm, straight face.

He cocked his head at her, staring blankly in return, not privy to speaking first.

"Karin, my darling!" the king cooed happily, waving his hand in a flourish towards Hitsugaya that gave him a strong urge to take another drink of wine. "You remember me speaking of the king from the Northern kingdom, Hyorinmaru! Their ruler, Toshiro, has come to greet us with his presence."

The dark haired girl's smirk grew just the slightest as she straightened - Karin, he thought, putting the name to the face Toshiro wondered if her name alluded to the summer forestry that stayed with Karakura throughout the year, or if the king was truly strange enough to name his children after various fruits.

"Ah. Delightful," Karin said in a thick, sarcastic voice. "A foreign prince blesses us with his presence."

Hitsugaya cocked a brow and bit back a smirk, turning to his plate and picking up his wine glass again. "No prince is here to greet you. A _king_, however, grows tired of your words," he replied, taking a long drink.

Her smirk turned dangerous. "I do believe a king should look a bit more grand than a prepubescent boy," she replied.

His entire body twitched in anger. "A king should be grand in wealth and land," he replied smoothly. "And I do believe a princess should be grand in her beauty...though you do not seem to grasp a hold of that. Perhaps your knitting skills, then?"

The sound of Ichigo and Isshin's steady, growing laughter made him sigh loudly, but he merely focused on the full tray of steak a passing servant placed onto his plate.

They glared at each other for the rest of the meal.

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He was seventeen when he saw her for the first time in a soldier's armor.

Hitsugaya was being bandaged by a field doctor as his two advisors, Ikkaku and Yumchika, talked to him in rapid voices to give their reports on the battle. His general, Matsumoto, with her thick black armor and glossy strawberry-blonde hair, stood the closest to him. She was by far the tensest. The katana slung onto her hip was clenched in her white-knuckled grip. All the white haired boy could think about was how badly his side burned with the antiseptic that the doctor was putting on his burn wounds, littering all down the left side of his back.

They were in an outpost on the outskirts of the Northern Kingdom, small and wooden and cold. His skin was icy from the freezing winds outside, and every muscle in his body positively _ached_, but focusing on the discomforts and pain kept him sufficiently conscious.

"Sire, if we may, we should be able to effectively counter attack if we take a small platoon of ten across enemy lines to disable the bombers."

"Yes! And then bombard the front lines with a full fleet."

Hitsugaya nodded vaguely, biting down on his lower lip and considering the idea. The doctor finished bandaging his chest, bowed low before him, and left him sitting on the examination table to exit the room. He busied himself with putting back on his clothes and ignoring the dull ache at his side.

"_Your highness_!" Matsumoto hissed. "Are you truly considering this?"

"Of course," he replied simply, not bothering to meet her gaze.

"It's too dangerous," Matusmoto hissed, slapping a hand down on his thigh to bring his attention to her. He flinched, giving her a heavy glare. "You think their only explosives were used on your platoon? As if. I won't send in an entire fleet to die just for your ego."

"The pride of my army is not my ego, General."

"Oh please! They're the same thing!"

"I do not retreat. My men do not retreat," Toshiro hissed, ripping away from the doctor as she bandaged him. "You know this."

Her face crumpled, no longer a warrior and looking very close to tears. The look wounded him, taking away his anger and bringing forth guilt. "I know. And I know that if we move forward without knowing what we're up against, then we'll send hundreds of men to deaths. Our soldiers have families to go home to, sire," Matsumoto said, pleading and desperate. "Please let me order a retreat."

Toshiro sighed, shaking his head. "It's already an insult that I have to participate in this," he snapped. He jumped off the examination table and walked towards the small stand that lay a fresh set of armor for him, as well as his black steel crown. "Aizen's army breaches _my_ kingdom's territory and destroys _my_ land? Unprovoked? And you expect me to retreat? You're mad, Matsumoto. I'd rather lay down my life right here and now."

"_Sire_! It's not about-!"

The knock on the door interrupted him.

"What?" Toshiro called out, annoyed.

"Sire, Princess Karin from the Southern Kingdom is here to see you."

He blinked, tilting his head sideways and glaring at the door. "For _what_?"

"Oh, for the love of _god_!" a feminine voice called out. "Let me through the goddamned door, you incompetent bastards!"

Toshiro sighed, his entire body deflating with frustration and a lack of energy. "Let her in," he said through a groan.

The door was kicked open, and from where he stood, all he saw was a small black boot sticking out from the door way. The foot fell, and Kurosaki Karin entered the room in a soldier's uniform. Her black hair was tied into a severe knot at the base of her head, and her chest plate was a shiny silver with a large bloodstain covering it. The strangest part was that she carried a grown man by the scruff of his neck, who was thoroughly bound and gagged. The man wore armor from Aizen's army, though it was marred by a large bloodstain on his thigh.

The white haired king stared at her, blinking and scowling in confusion for several seconds.

"What in the seven hells, woman?" Toshiro snapped.

"I come bearing gifts, your excellency," Karin spat, her tone wholly mocking, tossing the enemy soldier on the floor and crossing her arms over her bloodstained armor. "My father decided to send you a gift in light of recent events - six hundred and fifty soldiers under my brother's command. They're out now, awaiting orders."

"Si-_six hundred_?" Matsumoto stammered, her mouth falling open.

"And fifty," Karin added. She kicked the squirming enemy shoulder hard in the shoulder, giving a small smirk as he flinched and made a muffled sound of pain. "This one is _my_ gift. A platoon leader, out terrorizing a village on the outskirts of the kingdom. He has information on the bombers and where Aizen's mountain base is set up."

Toshiro stared, comically wide eyed as he took a second to process the teenage girl before him.

He didn't particularly like Kurosaki Karin much - there was something terribly annoying about a person who knew how to push all your buttons. He didn't trust aristocratic women any more than he trusted an foreign kings who claimed themselves allies - there were always hidden agendas. But the moments when their conversations didn't actually dissolve into petty, insulting arguments, he had always appreciated her straight forwardness.

But now, he decided to appreciate her ruthlessness as well.

And...cunning.

The young king began to put on his armor, doling out orders sharply. "Matsumoto, get back onto the field. Remobilize the troops, reformulate an attack on the frontlines, and leave the bombers to me," Hitsugaya said, pulling his mesh armor over his body before his black metal chest plate. Matsumoto nodded sharply before making her way out of the room speedily. "Ikkaku and Yumchika, ready an interrogation room for me."

"Will you be conducting it, Sire?" Ikkaku prompted.

"Obviously," Hitsugaya said. At last, with his armor fully strapped onto his body, he pulled the black crown inlaid with diamonds into his hands. He allowed himself an absent-minded moment to stare at the metalwork. Finally, he looked up at Karin with a raised brow. "And you. Get the hell out of my sight."

She seemed startled a bit, blinking twice and staring at him with a question in her eyes. "You are a king, yet you forget that you are not _my_ king - my lordship is the only man who orders me. And even then, I do not listen half of the time, " Karin said aloud, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall beside the door.

"Are you not in my kingdom? My land? That alone subjects you to my rule."

"Yet so is my brother - and he would never bow to you."

"Leave, Kurosaki."

"I want to attend the interrogation."

He barked out a laugh, short and mean. "And why would I let you do that?"

"Because- _because_ that's what friends do," Karin said plainly, no venom in her voice. She unfolded her arms and stared past his shoulder to the wall behind him. "You will let me in for that interrogation, like you will let me fight this battle beside you. That's what friends do. Are we not?"

Hitsugaya was silent for a moment, still holding his crown in his hands with straining fingers. He did not wish to tell her they were not friends - it wouldn't be the truth, and he did not fancy himself a liar. No matter how many times they would fight and insult and promise war upon each other's lands, at the end of the day, she was in his corner, and he was in her's. He was a warrior, born and bred into battle, and one of the first things he'd ever learned was to always stand aside a comrade. Loyalty was in his _blood_.

The earnest tone of her voice threw him off as well. Kurosaki Karin was a princess of a foreign kingdom, who could very well run off and tell all his kingdom's secrets if he did not keep a close enough eye on her.

But she had long since proved allegiance, countless times before, and once again by going out of her way for a battle that held no relevance to her.

His grip on his black crown tightened infinitesimally as thought. Was it not the time to prove himself?

"If we are able to ascertain specific information from the captive, then I will be leading a small team to find Aizen and end him," Toshiro said, giving her a hard look before putting his crown on top of his head. The weight of it was familiar and steadying to his overworked mind. "I will want you on that team."

Karin blinked, eyes going wide with shock. "Truly?"

"Truly."

"And you do not jest?"

"When do I ever?"

"Hmm...a fair point there, Oh Humorless One."

He could not help his smirk, ducking his head slightly as his eyes found anything in the room other than her. "Hold your tongue before I start treating you like a soldier under my command. And I don't take to insubordination kindly," Toshiro said lowly, making his way past her and out of the room. She followed quickly, keeping up with him easily.

"You take to nothing kindly, Toshiro," Karin said.

"A fair point there, my lady."

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He was twenty when her brother first threatened him.

He was in Karakura, walking the castle grounds alongside her, with his hands firmly in his pockets and his eyes firmly on the ground. It hadn't been a good day - he'd been awoken hours before dawn at more information of rampages from Aizen out east, causing havoc among innocent civilians. Yamamoto was an ancient man, but with a well-groomed army naught to be toyed with, and he'd written to both Toshiro and Isshin that he was handling the situation. Either way, Toshiro's spies kept him updated by messenger hawk every week.

Matsumoto couldn't sleep, with the information on the horrors Aizen was committing, and so when new information came, she could not wait to rouse him.

"Toshiro, I do know that you aren't the most talkative man, and I do understand that, but I have been speaking for three minutes straight and I do not believe you have heard a word I said," Karin said aloud, the tone in her voice not changing in the slightest. The white haired king blinked at the sound of his name being said.

"What?"

"Exactly."

"Did I-?"

"Yes, again," Karin said drly. He glared at her none too kindly, and she turned to glare back at him. "Don't look at me like that, you tart bastard. I'll draw you up an execution."

She wore a red gown that day - her hair up and her makeup simple. Her nails were dark blue and her teeth were stark white and her skin was awfully pale and her lips were awfully rosy and he liked too much the way her mouth moved. It twisted back in his favorite, rough grins.

"Weakness. I would execute you myself," Hitsugaya threw back easily. She stopped him from walking, a hand against her arm as she assessed him thoroughly. He groaned. "What is it, Kurosaki?"

"You look quite tired. And somewhat ill."

"I would attest to both, if we're being honest."

She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, stepping away from him and turning around to walk the other way, back towards the castle's side entrance from whence they came. "I knew coming to get you was a bad idea. You've been terribly wrapped up by the news from the eastern provinces," Karin said, sounding exasperated, but then allowed herself a small shrug. "Not that you shouldn't. It is horrifying."

"It is. And the only reason I am left sitting and waiting is for..._politics_," Toshiro said, spitting the word as if it were a vile, offensive thing (for which it was in his heart). "It is tiresome."

"But necessary. You must let Yamamoto handle it, you know," Karin said, taping his cheek with one of her sharp blue nails. His face scrunched at the appendage, but he said nothing to it. "Let a man handle his own land's business, lest you start a war upon an ally."

"The ways of old men amaze and anger me greatly," Toshiro said, quite unnecessarily.

"I know."

They were silent after that, and after finally making it back to the side entrance in a somewhat comfortable silence, Karin wrenched the doors open with great difficulty. They happened upon the kitchens once more, which were blessedly empty, and he followed her aimlessly as she darted off to the side of the room instead of exiting immediately.

"You are _much_ too weary to be socializing with me, Toshiro. I could bet my father's crown that you've yet to have a full night's sleep since you've arrived. It's made for such boring company," Karin lectured, sounding pointedly annoyed. She gathered a plate and large wine glass, oblivious to his own growing irritation. "Why can't you say these things plainly, my dear foolish king? I tire of your evasiveness."

"Kurosaki, you act as if you would have left me be," the white haired man replied in annoyance, referring to her asking for a walk along the castle's grounds that morning with great enthusiasm.

"This time, I would have. I hesitated greatly, but you were leaving the room before I had the mind to speak again."

"Oh, hold your damn tongue, you venomous snake."

She sneered at him. "If I were a snake, I would pray to be poisonous enough to fell you in a single bite," Karin replied snappishly. She gathered the dishes she wanted, and walked towards the large island in the middle of the kitchens. "Come sit, you pompous fool."

Hitsugaya followed her orders with a word of dissent, but still glared as the plate and glass were set before him. He allowed himself a rare hunch in the seat as she began filling his plate with various things from around the kitchens - salad, strange fruits, fillet meat, even setting a small stack of wrapped sweets beside his plate - before finally bringing a second wine glass and a very large jug of wine to the counter. He watched her pour his cup first, and then her's, before sliding into the seat next to him.

"Eat, you damn idiot," Karin snapped, gesturing him towards his full plate. "You need it."

"Quiet, you damn harpy," Hitsugaya bit back - still, he ate.

The dark haired girl brought her wine glass to his lips and watched him, as if thinking deeply, but there was nothing absent about the look in her eyes. He gave her his own stare, but she did not relent. He sighed, and began eating, bringing a piece of tart fruit into his mouth with his fork. Toshiro made a face at the taste of it, but continued eating, though quite lethargically. Karin kept watching him as she leaned into the side of the counter with quickly deteriorating posture.

"You know, I do believe you came to visit for leisure instead of politics. Once again," Karin said, almost conversationally, but not quite. The edge in her tone grated on him. "You worry over war too much, Toshiro. Your own stress will sooner kill you than an enemy blade."

"I should hope so. Being a king is infinitely more difficult than being a warrior," he replied, stabbing his fork with a slice of meat. She slapped his arm hard, and it stung just the slightest, but he didn't retaliate. His voice did lower significantly. "This is not a war to worry over. This is a war to _win_."

"You cannot win a damn thing if you are dead."

"I will not die," Hitsugaya said with certainty - looking like a man who could control the world's gravitational pull. And he wanted her to believe him, in his power, in his might. "Not before Aizen. Not before I topple his entire standing."

She drank deeply from her glass of wine, cutting him a vicious glare, and his hope was fizzled out. He expected too much from a girl who would sooner question God then believe wholeheartedly in him. "You _truly_ are a difficult boy," Karin retorted sharply. Hitsugaya glared angrily at the words.

"I will be twenty one years this winter. You dare call me a boy?"

"A difficult one, sire."

"You are far more childish than I."

"Yet you obsess like a boy, and you inflate yourself with a boy's ego. You've naught changed since you were fourteen, barely a ruler with too much good fortune sitting in your lap," the dark haired girl spat, twisting her mouth around as if drinking the flavor of wine in her mouth, or merely looking displeased with him. He could not tell. "And now, for your pride, you search diligently for a madman at the expense of your own health and commonwealth. It is upsetting."

Hitsugaya let his fork fall onto his plate as he laughed deeply, reaching for his own wine glass. "You know not a damn thing, Kurosaki. My pride? Aizen has felled my kin, not my ego. And he will pay for his sins in blood," Toshiro said, condescending and mean.

Karin recoiled. "He has killed your kin? When?"

Toshiro shook his head. "Years before. When I was a young child. It was barbaric. That day he sealed his fate," the white haired king said, taking a sip of his wine. "He made sure I would become his murderer - to violently hack him into pieces."

Karin was silent for a moment before speaking again in a much softer voice. "You can violently hack him to pieces with good tactics and a decent amount of sleep every night, Toshiro."

"There is a constant flow of information I cannot miss. I might have to leave within a moment's notice."

Karin groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead. "You cannot come and go whenever you _choose_! Within a moment's notice! What manners were to taught?" she shrieked, slapping the table's counter between them in a fit of anger. A smirk bloomed on her face, coy and dangerous. "You'll make me quite feel cheap like this, my king."

Hitsugaya smiled minuscule, rolling his eyes. "That is never my intention, my lady. You are worth all the diamonds my lands have to offer," he said, half joking and half earnest, because he knew he meant what he said. "But when I must leave, I will."

"I know that. It aggravates me deeply."

"You wish me to return, then?"

"You _must_," Karin commanded, leaning back into her seat and poking his temple with her sharp nail. He pulled her hand away, but did not let go. "You owe me a proper visit, you right bastard. No secret visits with my father and his idiotic council in the middle of the night in preparation for battle. I cannot stand it."

"That's no fair, sister. My presence is there as well."

The two looked - and Hitsugaya immediately let go of Karin's hand - to see Ichigo standing in the kitchen's doorway, leaning upon it and smiling passively. Karin rolled her eyes, but there was mirth in her eyes.

"Your presence is irrelevant to me, brother."

The Grand Prince gave a mock wounded look to his younger sister. "Irrelevant? You deem your future lord and king _irrelevant_?" Ichigo said, as if repeating horrifying blasphemy about himself. "I'll have you beheaded for that."

Karin chuckled. "As if. You would be much too bored without me," she said, standing from her seat and clapping Toshiro on the back happily. He choked on his food, giving her a heavy glare. "Well, my fair rulers, I'll leave you be. I must see to Matsumoto today. I have not happened upon her in ages, and she will only be here for a little while longer. Try and behave, won't you?"

And with that, after grabbing the wine jug and another glass alongside her own, Karin had left the room. Ichigo had smiled at her as she left the room, and she smiled back, bumping her shoulder to his arm as she passed by him through the door way. The strawberry haired prince was quiet for a moment, walking through the kitchen to side on the other side of the island that Hitsugaya occupied.

"You surprise me sometimes, Toshiro. This is where the servants eat," Ichigo said, looking nonplussed about the fact. Toshiro continued eating, giving the ruler an icy look. "I would not expect you to stay and eat here."

"I am a soldier before I am a king. I sit and eat where I will. It is _your_ kingdom's people who chose to live in classes amongst yourselves," Hitsugaya replied, feeling distinctly insulted. He had ruled over an army of tens of thousands, having ate and bled alongside them for years. He was a king of men, but he was not above them. They were all human beings.

"You do not think I realize? I plan to eradicate that sort of thinking after my coronation. There is a culture to change," Ichigo said, leaning into the counter and resting his jaw against his palm. Hitsugaya did not say anything to that - he probably knew how difficult that would be. Changing the way people had thought for centuries was a task indeed. He wouldn't need to be reminded, he hoped. "But I had to point it out. I do not think much of you in the first place."

Hitsugaya raised a brow, but kept eating. "And why is that, Kurosaki?"

"Because you are so obviously leading my sister on."

He paused, putting down his fork on his plate before fixing the orange haired man with a sharp glare. "What the fuck are you blabbering about?" Toshiro said plainly.

Ichigo laughed coldly, sitting up straight and giving his own glare. Toshiro fixed his posture as well. "You know damn well what I mean, you right piece of shit. Do you truly believe I don't see the way you look at her? The way you are always together? I am not my father - I do not trust men blindly with my sister," he said, his voice quickly filling itself with vicious anger.

"Am I not allowed to speak with her? Are you attempting to forbid her from me? Do not be foolish. Karin will do as she pleases, like she's always done," Toshiro spat in irritation. "What wrong have I done against her?"

"The both of you are of marrying age. She has been so for _years_ now. There would be no objections to you asking for her hand. Yet you dawdle like an uncouth youth, because there is only one fucking thing you want from my sister," Ichigo hissed, leaning forward on the table.

Instantly, Toshiro was turning red. "Do not misconstrue my intentions, idiot! And either way, she is too young to be married."

"Sixteen is of marrying age."

"Sixteen is a _child_. She knows not enough of the world to begin a life with someone."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, standing up once again. "Truly, you think me a naive fool, though I am both older and with more experience than you. Your genius must only lay in the battlefield, Toshiro, so I will say this once, and I will say this _slowly_," he snapped, sounding like a dangerous viper, so at odds with the usually happy going prince that he encountered. Ichigo locked eyes with Toshiro with a steel gaze. "If you hurt my sister, if you dishonor her in anyway, I'll light your funeral pyre my goddamned self."

The white haired king was taken aback by the intensity of the older man's anger, and he almost lost the glare on his face, but Ichigo was walking away briskly before he could return with any sort of remark and salvage his pride.

.

.

.

He was twenty one when she kissed him for the first time.

It was his birthday, and Matsumoto would be damned if he got through the night without a loud, ostentatious party. He could see his subjects in monochrome - expensive folds of white and black and shades of grey - amidst the color of guests from foreign lands. The lights were low, bringing his vision into an even blurrier focus, and it was hard to make out anything specifically unless he squinted. He'd drank far too much than he should have, surrounded by those who could be a potential enemy, but it was his birthday and he'd be damned if he spent the night sober.

Currently, Matsumoto stood beside Kuchiki Byakuya with a large wine glass in hand, no longer a soldier, but a beautiful woman who was sinking her claws into its prey.

It was quite hilarious to him.

"Gods, this is fucking hilarious," Hitsugaya said, though he did not laugh aloud. He gripped a large cup of vodka in one hand, the other propping his jaw up along his arm. His leg was crossed at the ankle and his posture was purely atrocious. "He looks ready to flee."

"Oh, give him more _credit_, Toshiro," Karin barked, standing beside him. "He's doing...decently."

"I shall not. He is doing poorly, Karin."

"He is not! He is actually speaking to her. Though, yes, he does look quite uncomfortable."

He tilted his head very far to the left and noticeably squinted. "He looks quite suicidal from this angle."

Karin coughed out a laugh, looking to the two guards that stood not even a foot away from Toshiro on either side of where his throne stood at the far end of the room. Toshiro took another long drink from his glass, wishing the dark haired girl beside him was close enough to whisper properly to. It would have been much easier if he could bring her into his lap, but that would probably get him slapped across the face.

"You are a right _bastard_, Toshiro," Karin hissed, reaching over the arm of his throne to pinch him. He half heartedly slapped her hand away.

"I do not deny it," the king replied. He raised his glass lazily. "The spirits are to blame this night."

Kairn rolled her eyes, leaning against the throne and giving him a sidelong glance. "And for every other night, sire?" she questioned.

"There are plenty of others to blame. Namely you."

"Oh hush," she spat. Then she lit up, eyes bright and staring at him with excitement. "I forgot about your present."

Hitsugaya groaned, tilting his head back and forth to work the kinks out of it. It was late, he knew, because the sky was pitch black and the room had gotten just a bit colder. It wouldn't surprise him if it was past midnight. "I told you that it was pointless to get me anything," Toshiro told her honestly. "I own a kingdom rich in wealth and power. I have no wants or needs. Why do you insist upon this every year?"

"When have my gifts _ever_ been pointless?"

That shut him up quickly; since he was seventeen, Karin had gotten him an array of birthday gifts that range from incredibly strange to distinctly useful. It was a running theme between them. She'd made a habit of it over the years. The first was a captain from Aizen's army for interrogation, the second was a personal messenger hawk that could travel through the harsh winter conditions of his kingdom, the third was an odorless and tasteless poison she'd concocted herself should he ever need a silent assassination, and the fourth, for his twentieth the year before, was an old book of code for inscriptions.

All her gifts had proven to be useful to him at some point in time, some more than others. Even the poison - though he refuses to tell her when he'd made use of _that_ particular gift.

"Bring it to me," Toshiro said, waving her away.

"Come and get it," Karin said, reaching up to tug on his upper arm. "I am no maidservant of your's."

He sighed, downed his drink, then stood from his throne. He handed off his empty glass to a passing waitress, whom bowed as she passed him. Karin watched him with a raised brow, looking distinctly put off as he walked much more slowly than usual. Toshiro was sure he was not doing it on purpose, though; he was drunk enough to start stumbling. It was not something he would put himself through with a crowd behind him.

"This will look purely scandalous, leaving my own party with a princess from the Northern kingdom," Hitsugaya grumbled to himself. Karin shot him a look, and he shrugged. "It's a good thing you look surly enough to be a man."

She squawked, shoving him aside as they made their way through the door to the far corner of the room, passing a few more servants as they started up the hall. Toshiro managed to remain upright, but she paid him no heed as she began lecturing.

"I spent two hours getting ready for this, all on your account. You are forbidden from calling me ugly," Karin snapped, pointing a stern finger at him. "And what is with you, always commenting on us being scandalous? We are friends. The court has stopped gossiping about us ages ago. And I have no care for rumors in the first place. Let them talk."

"I have no concern over court gossip. Your father and your brother were there."

"My father and brother care not for who I speak with," Karin said, defiant and angry.

"You think that?"

"Alright, well, they trust me with you. They trust you, fool. Do you not think you have earned it?"

Hitsugaya sighed. It was a rhetorical question, because he battled alongside her far too many times to not have her best interest at heart, be it against an enemy with an army or an impure mind. Regardless of what he wanted, he always kept her best interest at heart.

Not that he was sure of what he wanted...

They made their way through the halls until they got to the guest room's wing of the palace, Karin squinting around in the half darkness until she made it to her room. She opened it, holding out a finger for him to pause, and reluctantly he did. She disappeared inside of the room, and he sighed heavily, staring up at the ceiling and shoving his hands into his pockets. Karin made more than a bit of noise inside the of room, a loud curse as something heavy fell, piquing his curiosity. Before he could make his way into the room, she was walking out with something wrapped in a navy velvet in her hands.

"It took a long time thinking about how to get this perfect. And I know you prefer swords to knives, but you might end up losing your sword one day. The metal isn't silver - its an ore from Karakura that's poisonous to humans. You don't need to hit a vital area to make a kill," Karin said, holding the bundle out towards him. It was long and relatively narrow, and when she placed it into his outstretched hands, he could feel the weight of metal. "Now unfold it, idiot."

He did as he was told, giving her a sharp glare as he did so, as the velvet wrapping fell away to reveal a pure silver knife, wide and thin. It was within a matching silver scabbard, with a leather thigh strap attached to it. The hilt of the knife was inlaid with bright, thick rubies, not unlike the jewels that laid against her throat.

"These are rubies from your kingdom," Toshiro murmured.

"They are," Karin said, sounding smug. "And whenever someone sees it, they'll know it came from _my_ home."

"You trite, possessive wench," Hitsugaya said, feeling uncomfortably bashful. Karin laughed aloud, still smiling widely.

"I know."

Still feeling quite drunk, Toshiro gripped onto the knife as he looked her square in her ink colored eyes. The words were pulling themselves from his lips before he'd even given them permission.

"You look beautiful tonight," he said bluntly. She blinked, the smile falling from her face. He hoped she was blushing.

"You _said_-!"

"I lie, Karin."

She sighed, heavily, not quite sounding displeased, but not sounding at ease either. Toshiro gave himself a moment to stare at her fully, the deep violet of her gown and the bright gold of her royal necklace and the bright red of her lips. Her hair was full with deep waves, falling over her left shoulder and down her back. She looked demure, faint and delicate, with full sleeves that hid the muscles that rippled underneath her flesh.

There was something truly striking about the way Karin looked as a warrior, in the middle of fearsome swordplay, without a stitch of fine clothing or makeup adorning her face.

But he was quite fond of the way she looked as a queen.

_His queen_, his treacherous mind whispered, imagining a black diadem inlaid with diamonds perched atop her midnight hair. The thought pleased him much more than it should have.

"You lie too much. I shall make an honest man of you yet," Karin said, voice full of promise. It intimidated him greatly, at how sure she sounded. The dark haired girl stepped forward, her hands finding his shoulders and guiding him towards her. "Spend the night with me."

Toshiro blinked, staring at her silently for a moment before speaking. "What."

"You heard me."

"_What_."

"Have the spirits taken away your ability to speak intelligently as well?"

He could not form coherent thought still, and she took advantage of his shock, reaching forward fully to press her lips into his. His eyes shut closed of their own accord as instinct took over, his free hand reaching for her hip to pull her body flush to his. His lips moved in synch with her, letting her take over each of his body's senses. Karin sighed into the kiss, leaving her mouth parted for him. Toshiro swept his tongue across her bottom lip before biting down on it.

She did not pull away until his tongue slipped past her lips, running along her teeth, and giving him a full bodied shiver.

But Karin was no stranger to her own body - as suddenly as she was reciprocating the kiss, she was pulling away and breathing as deeply as he.

Toshiro stared down at her, wide-eyed and lustful, wondering if she knew how badly he wanted her in that second. The room to her door was merely inches away. A warm bed and a night of her body, his to claim.

"You've naught a drink tonight," Toshiro said, feeling aroused and guilty and thoroughly manipulated.

"I've-I haven't a taste for liquor," Karin said. There was hesitance in her voice that he did not enjoy for a second. "Just a bit of wine."

"You are sober," he said, anger seeping into his tone. He extracted himself from her, feeling the loss of her warmth acutely. It angered her further, feeling how desperate he was. "Yet you think it wise to toy and tempt a drunk man."

"You are not a drunk man. You are a drunk _Toshiro_," Karin said, emphasizing his name as if it meant something.

"You did not forget your gift. You lead me here with purpose, in the dark, while the lot of my guests forget my presence. These schoolyard games are ridiculous and undignified. Do not offer yourself to me for the night if you cannot handle a second of a kiss," the white haired king spat, glad of the darkness around them. He was positively shaking now, out of self restraint, out of rage, out of want, he could not tell. "You act as if you are a woman, yet you cower like a girl."

"Who is playing games, bastard? I am just not so fond of you trying to shove your tongue down my throat," Karin spat back, leaning against the marble walls and crossing her arms. He eyed the length of her, despite himself, and she did the same. "I am interested in no lecherous kiss."

"You call _that_ lecherous, yet you want me in your bed for the night? Truly, you are a child," Toshiro said, stepping forward and finding the curve of her hip once again with his free hand. Suddenly, they were closer than ever, her body flush against his. She did not move when he pulled her close, she did not move when his lips found the shell of her ear, and she did not move when he began speaking. "My tongue can become much more lecherous than you can fathom, Karin. Your body has many places that it would rather have my tongue. And I will have you begging before the sun rises, before I fully claim you."

Her breathing became as erratic as his, short pants that blew warm breath against his neck. His gut tightened in desire, at the thin sheet of her gown so easily torn away - the thought of taking her in the hall came to him quickly, unbidden and disrespectful and filled with primal want.

But Toshiro stepped away, because he was not fond of fucking Karin in a very public hallway.

"You will not let me dishonor you this night," Toshiro said, his voice low and regretful. "Do not toy with me, Karin."

"I-I-I do not toy with you. I _want_ you," Karin said, reaching forward and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Her sharp nails scraped against his skin in a thoroughly vexing manner. "I want you to spend the night with me."

"You are earnest, but you are _young_, Karin," Hitsugaya said, almost hissing the word. He pulled her hand away from his shirt and let it fall against her side. She was still breathing hard, but the look on her face warped from absentminded lust into resentment. "I will not take a child to bed."

"I have killed men twice your size. And I have seen war - blood and gore and horrible, horrible things. I am no child, Toshiro," Karin snapped.

"Yet you fear a kiss so thoroughly plain, it brings me stomach pains," Toshiro replied, shaking his head. "And I am far from sober. Very, very far from sober. Let me return to my quarters and continue this conversation when I can see more than a few meters in front of me."

Karin breathed harshly, looking down and clenching the edges of her gown with her sharp, dangerous nails. He wanted them raking down his back as he entered her harshly, and he wanted to know what sounds she would make when she climaxed.

"Y-you are- you are _very_- I...Karin, you are important to me," the king muttered, stumbling on his words and feeling his cheeks bloom with warmth. She looked up for a moment, staring him down for a second, before her eyes returned to the floor. "I do not want to dishonor you."

"It's not a dishonor. I can bring to bed with me whomever I so chose."

"Then just for your father's peace of mind."

Karin looked up, quirking a brow at him. "Not..._not_ my brother, then?"

"Fuck your goddamned brother," Toshiro said plainly.

"You know, I know what he told you in the kitchen in July," Karin said, almost conversationally, though still not meeting his gaze. "He was wrong, and I know it. I know when a man wants me for more than companionship. You're more than that."

"Make no mistake - I want you, Kurosaki Karin," he said, grabbing her by the chin with his fingers and lifting her head so that she would meet his gaze. "_Badly_. But this is no way for me to take you."

"Then why don't you-?"

"Because you are young."

"I am _not_, you fool!"

"You are. And if I am to have you, then I'll have you in my bed as my bride."

Karin blinked, looking suddenly very scared, the brutal honesty of his words hitting her. He let go of her jaw then, stepping way and walking away briskly as he tried to settle his drunken thoughts together. He hadn't meant to be that honest, because with honesty came vulnerability. He wasn't sure that he could trust Karin enough to bare himself to her in that manner.

But if marriage kept her at bay - a dirty trick it maybe - he would as honest as he could to space between them once more.

.

.

.

He was twenty two when he realized he loved her.

They were in his palace's training room, clashing swords fiercely. He couldn't say he was going easy on her - it had been a _long_ time since he could best her in a fight without trying too hard. Her skill and her strength were viciously honed over the years, with a father and brother who represented their kingdom's swordplay masters.

Karin twisted sideways, contorting her body as he struck forward, and brought her own sword down along his shoulder as he was exposed for a moment. Hitsugaya moved backwards quickly, reaching up and knocking her sword left. Karin balanced herself again, then surging forward for another sideways strike, the sound of metal scraping against metal rung out inside of the spacious room. He could tune out the quiet murmur of other soldiers, the somber presence of the royal guards, the medics speaking rapidly as if in concern, and even his own general trying to placate a very irate Ichigo. But for the life of him, he could not tune out the rough grin that toyed at Karin's lips, not diminishing in the slightest at every blow he sent her way. He could not tune out her hair, pulled into a high knot at the base of her head, long hair flowing like an oil slick in her hair. He could not tune out the happiness that glowed in her face.

Toshiro arced his sword sideways, aiming for her collarbone. She sidestepped the weapon, displaying impressive speed, and rushed forward in her own forwards jab.

Very, _very_ close to his throat.

Toshiro leant backwards, avoiding the metal's contact towards his neck, and reached a palm to the ground to shift his weight onto his upper body. He brought a foot up with the momentum of his dodge, and sharply kicked Karin's wrist.

She squawked, her sword clanging to the floor as he righted himself onto both feet once more. Hitsugaya glared at her, as she sword-slinging warrior goddess turned into a loud, annoyed princess.

"What the fuck?" Karin snapped. She cradled her wrist to her chest, as if it were broken, and suddenly, all the anger poured out of him. "You _broke_ something, idiot! Why couldn't you dodge that normally?"

"Why are you so adamant on trying to slice open my throat?" Hitsugaya tossed back, sheathing his blade quickly and stepping towards her. He tried pulling her wrist into his hands, but she jerked away from his touch. It bothered him more than it should have."It was instinct."

"It was bloody annoying! And painful!"

"I refuse to apologize when you had your sword to my jugular."

"I wasn't even that close. If you were _properly_ paying attention...," Karin muttered, her words turning into unintelligble mumbles as he grasped her broken wrist within his own hands and assessed the damage. He saw the obvious deformity, her thumb looking out of place and the muscles just under her palm looking strained.

"Bloody fucking hell," an angry, male voice said to his left. "You can't go half an hour without injuring her?"

Toshiro looked up to see Ichigo waving over a healer and looking ready to break a few own his bones. They traded intense glares over Karin's shoulder as a medic came rushing forward with supplies, taking away the girl's attention. "Training accidents happen constantly. Are you thick?" the white haired man snapped defensively.

"You find the most barbaric ways to hurt her!" Ichigo snapped.

"I've gotten worse, Ichigo. Leave it be," Karin drawled, holding out her wrist to the healer that was on stand by. The pale haired young woman took her wrist, did a minimal amount of prodding, before bringing out a stint from one of her pockets. It made Karin smile a bit. "You're mighty prepared."

"I should be. His Excellency always does his training...thoroughly," the medic said, giving said king a secretive smile. Hitsugaya merely rolled his eyes at the comment.

"Oh, so this is a regular thing? You brute," Ichigo snapped.

"Stop fucking acting as if your sister is a common daffodil. She's a perfectly trained warrior who had a sword to my neck. I reacted," Hitsugaya hissed back, bringing himself to his full height - which admittedly was not much at all - as he faced the orange haired king.

"You did not react well," Ichigo retorted.

"Ichigo, out," Karin snapped, glaring fiercely as the medic continued to wrap her wrist. "You have lost your viewing privileges for the day. Find someone else to bother. Be a productive king."

The strawberry haired man gave the both of them heavy glares before stalking out of the large training area, passing by several royal guards that gave him weary looks. Hitsugaya scoffed at his anger, the urge to follow the older man and just to get into an argument swelling up in his chest.

The medic finished bandaging Karin's hand, bowed to the both of them, and then scurried away. The dark haired princess waved and smiled at the medic as she left. A servant rushed forward in her place, a bit clumsy and nervous, as he offered the two training monarchs warm, wet towels.

"Thank you _very_ much. Oh, and mind not my brother, Toshiro. He's been right awful since the coronation. I think he's worried about our father travelling and not keeping up with us regularly. I am not quite sure," Karin said, pulling his attention to her as she wiped the sweat from her face and neck. It wasn't particularly distracting, but Toshiro watched anyway. Her pale skin was flushed red with exertion, and the healthy sheen pleased him. "He's rather stressed. Ignore it."

"I cannot."

"Don't be a baby."

Toshiro positively pouted. The whole arrangement was bothersome - it was supposed to be _Karin_ visiting, not her brother. There was no official business that he had with Karakura's king, but he'd decided to come along for some bullshit political reason anyway.

He hadn't seen Karin in more than three months - half the rainy season came and went without her presence. As unwilling as he was to admit it, he'd missed her greatly.

Her presence had become a constant when after spending so much time in Karakura and soldier encampments during the war, but now, in peacetime, he had responsibilities to attend to. Hyorinmaru and its people needed tending to. There was no reason for frequent correspondence with her kingdom.

"That fool is within walking distance of you nearly_ year round_. I request your presence here for a fortnight, and he decides he cannot part away from his dearest sister?" Toshiro said as he picked up her sword for her. He twirled it within his hand and glared at the shiny silver metal. "I know exactly what troubles him."

"Oh, love, did someone miss me?" Karin said, jutting out her lip and looking positively mocking. Toshiro sneered, and she burst into laughter. "Alright, fine, fine! But you are quite troubling yourself. Ichigo has a right to worry."

"I am _not_ a troubling man."

"That is a boldfaced lie and you know it."

Either way, he pushed the sword into her awaiting left hand, her much less adept hand, and she pouted when he gave her a look. If she intended to train, he would train. They were not yet done for the day. An hour had not yet pass. And she was fully capable of left-handed sword play.

"I am terrible at left-handed sword play," Karin muttered, assuming a stance.

Toshiro shrugged, unsheathing his blade from its holster at his hip and brandishing it with his left. "Then I'll handicap myself as well."

"You're ambidextrous!" Karin snarled, stomping her foot as she fell away from her stance. "It makes no difference for you!"

"You use that term incorrectly. I _learned_ left-handed sword play," Toshiro corrected, giving her a smug smirk. "By the day's end, I might be able to beat it into you as well."

That got her angry. She assumed a stance again, as did he, and they were both charging at each other once more. She was slower, and more hesitant, but still managed to give him a good fight. The handicap made her even more vicious, as she aimed for vital areas more frequently in an effort to throw him off But he was not distracted this time - every blow was dodged accordingly.

When he disarmed her for the second time, she growled, slapping her good hand to her forehead and glaring at him. "You mean to make a fool of me, bastard!" Karin hissed, kicking at the dirt.

"I do _not_," Hitsugaya snapped. "I respect you more than anyone."

The words slipped out of his mouth unbidden, as if he were not meant to say them aloud but did anyway. He blinked, the irritation flooding from him at once as she stared at her blank expression. Karin swept sweaty hair away from her face, and gave him a questioning look.

"Boldfaced lie," Karin said, as if repeating herself. There was a cautious look in her eyes. "What about Matsumoto?"

And that was obviously true - his general, his righthand woman, his advisor in every part of his life, _she _was undoubtedly the person he respected the most. She was fearsome, and brilliant, and could change from a lazy, lecherous woman into the most terrifying warrior that the world had ever seen within a second. She had been by his side through countless battles, conquering of lands, and a bloodcurtling war.

She'd been when he'd taken the crown unsettlingly young, and she was still with him now. There were burdens they carried, long and hard, on each other's shoulders. _That_ was the woman he respected the most.

But Karin, his...?

_Oh_, he thought. Damn.

Toshiro sighed, resheathing his sword and waving a hand at her. His face felt incredibly red, just thinking, and making eye contact was not an option right now. "Come. Bathe and return to my quarters for lunch. I have no energy for the dining room today," he said, feeling strange and annoyed and very, very childish.

Karin (the one he loved the most) huffed, very loudly, but followed none the less.

.

.

.

He was twenty three when he proposed.

It was dark, with moonlight and starlight guiding the way for them, dancing upon the blackened waves of the tide and the white sand. The sound of the tide lulled them into quietness, as they walked along the sandy beach. Karin's sandals and Toshiro's boots lay somewhere back inside of the Kuchiki home, as they'd raced along the shoreline long enough for the house to become a pinprick in the distance. There were no other houses within sight, such as it went with vacationing homes. There was nothing but miles upon miles of sand and ocean before them as they sprinted.

Karin, breathing heavy, with tousled dark locks that fell down her back in a black, hellish waterfall, reached out to punch him in the shoulder. Her dress - silk forest green with gold accents, complimented only by her royal necklace - was hiked up past her thigh and tied up at her hip to reveal long, toned legs.

He grunted at her fist making contact rather brutally, but did not comment upon the gesture.

"I feel better now," she said, giving him a grateful smirk. "Thank you."

"It's fine. Excercise...is important," Toshiro finished lamely, glaring back upon the Kuchiki's home. "What happened?"

"I-I just- I have not seen my father in many, _many_ weeks. I actually missed the old goat," Karin said, turning swiftly and beginning to walk. He followed beside her at arm's length, shoving up the sleeves of his satin shirt. "And he decides to spend dinner with...practically a stranger...talking about men he wants me to marry. I could not breathe."

"The Kuchikis are no strangers to you," Hitsugaya said, giving her a careful look. The entire dinner conversation seemed inappropriate and irritating - seeing as to how Isshin kept his jokes plenty, listening horrifying unsuitable names (in Toshiro's book) for Karin to marry, sending him sidelong glances the whole time. And his ploy only ended with making his daughter feel wretched. It vexed him the entire night. "You grew up with Rukia beside Ichigo. As well as Byakuya in the shadows."

"Yes but...marriage? With Byakuya casually commenting upon it? Inappropriate...completely inappropriate...I know him not that well," Karin huffed. She looked at him over her shoulder, giving him a glare. "Thank you for being here."

"I was invited by Rukia."

"I demanded it of her. You know it."

Toshiro sighed, running a hand through his hair as a migraine began to form in his left temple. "I know it," he allowed. He didn't think he was ready for her to call him a good friend right now - not when what he needed to say was so horribly frightening that his lungs would not work properly. "Will you not allow us _any_ understanding? Any secrets? You need not be this plain with me. If you ask it of me, I will comply without hesitation."

"You seem to be the only one. Ichigo loves me, but he will always treat me as a child. I cannot fault him for it. My father as well. And Yuzu...is too different from me to understand many things," Karin said, sounding wistful and staring at the moon as if she could find her sister on it - the newly wed still on her honeymoon and very much missed by her sister. "You understand me best."

"I have known you for years," Toshiro said, frowning.

"Yet not my whole life," Karin said, stopping herself from walking further and reaching out to stop him as well. She gave him a fierce look, determined and hopeful and scared, all in one, and it shook the breath out of him. "You are...you are the great love of my life, you know. I do not say this lightly."

He sighed, reaching for her, but she put a hand up for him to stop.

"No - you will let me finish," the dark haired woman snapped, biting down on her lip and staring for another second before speaking again. "You are unnervingly confident in what am I able, even when no one else is. You _respect_ me. And you treat me with dignity, like no man ever has, in person and on the battlefield. You seek to better me instead of demean me. You are honest like no other. And- and you are _kind_, so kind, though you loathe admit it. You are."

He smirked, crossing his arms and looking into the sky above as his face reddened. "I am loathe to admit it."

"But you do- and you are _magnificent_," she said, finishing and breathing shakily, as if still scared, as if she should even have a doubt upon him. "You have truly ruined any other man for me. All others are inferior. I will not have another."

"You won't. There is something unnaturally stubborn about your heart," Toshiro said, voice husky and low. He was very close to coughing himself to death in his own nervousness. He stepped forward, and she stiffened, not sure of his intentions, but he merely reached around to undo the golden, ruby-incrusted necklace.

"What are you doing?"

"Proposing."

She stiffened further, but did not speak another word or move against him. Toshiro undid the clasp of the golden necklace. He placed it in her hands, then reached inside of his breast pocket to extract a different necklace.

It was a choker - made of liquid black metal reminiscent of his crown, but somewhat shinier. The clasp was a thick silver enclosure, but the large rippling designs of ink metal were inlaid with large diamonds, and small diamonds, peppered together in a beautiful design, like stars dotted into the night sky, except more deliberate, more elegant.

A queen's necklace, she thought to herself.

"Oh, _Toshiro_," Karin whispered, touching at the choker that laid against her throat with tears stinging in her eyes. He reached for her hand, and she gave it to him.

"I am about to steal your words, but I might allow you credit," Toshiro said, giving her a strained smile - he could inject no true snark into his tone. His heart beat so fast and so hard, he thought himself ready to down in his own pulse. But still, he spoke. "You are...the great love of my life. There is no human that I have ever trusted more, in every sense of the word. There is no one I will have in your stead. You were not born a princess - you were born- born a _queen_. So let me give you an empire to rest your feet upon."

She shook, and she smiled so blearily wide that it looked crooked, as if she were not used to the gesture. "I am...I am very weary. I would like somewhere to rest," Karin said, her voice cracking.

"If you ask it of me..._whatever_ you ask...I will comply without a moment's notice. Let me make vows upon it, my queen," Toshiro said. "Marry me."

"Yes," Karin said, choking on a sob and still grinning. "Why- why not?"

He laughed, full bellied and loud enough for the night air to echo it. They surged forward, kissing her with a fury he did not think he possessed, putting their last night together at his birthday to shame. He felt a heavy revelation in his stomach, an epiphany so physical that it brought feeling to ever cell upon his skin, as if freshly born.

It took a long time for them to separate for air.

.

.

.

He was twenty four when he married her.

Through the thick crowd of the ceremony, all he could see was her walking down the aisle before him. She wore a pure, snow white dress, with full sleeves and a rounded neck, covered in lace. The dress stuck to every curve of her body and flared out in a long train at her feet. Her thick black hair was piled neatly on top of her head, once again in deep curls that sprung around her face where they broke loose. For the life of him, he could not keep his eyes off her mouth - painted a deep, rich blood red of a fresh kill, with lips pulled into a mischievous smile.

She looked like a goddess and she _knew_ it.

Toshiro rolled his eyes but could not keep the smile off his face. Isshin handed her off to him, and if there were ever a doubt the man thought of him a son, it was vanished as soon as that warm smile was set upon him.

They stood in front of each other, smiling like idiots.

"We look like common, love struck fools," Karin murmured. "I've been smiling all day."

"Good. You look like a beautiful fool," Toshiro replied. She blushed, ducked her head and pinched one of that hands that was holding her's.

"You idiot."

"_Your_ idiot."

"You may now kiss the bride."

Hitsugaya blinked at the words, elation blooming in his chest, and stared down at her with what Matusmoto would recall as _"pure, unadulterated glee"_. It wasn't so far from the truth; for a man who spent his childhood as a warrior, he did get particularly excited about kissing his wife in front of hundreds of people. He had spent a life time stepping back and giving space when he wanted her to be close, and everything still felt so fresh and new. If he stared too long, the half moons in her eyes would make him him dizzy. They had waxed and waned for so long, the phases of the moon the phases of the moon too incomplete as they parted and came together again.

He was overwhelmed by it, on some days. He could not breathe around her brilliance. There were so many things he needed to learn and learn again. So many things he had to understand about her. Human life was too short to contain all the time he wanted with her.

And the arrogant part of him - the purely royal, childish, greedy part of him - was willing to demand them the cosmos after death. Let his queen truly become a goddess and rule the universe beside him.

But for now, Toshiro kissed his bride, and she kissed back, and the hall burst into applauding cheers.

He knew they had a lifetime together - a lifetime of her presence, her laughter, her lips against his own.

.

.

.

When Karin was sixteen, still breathing harshly from her first head spinning kiss, he said he would only have her in his bed as his bride.

It hit her like a train.

Yet she only felt a moment's fear as she pondered it. It came crashing down on her like a hurricane, filling her entire being with knowing, because love was nothing if not the hot air inside of her chest within his presence. She _knew_ that she would not have another - Toshiro had ruined all other men for her. There would be no other she would ever want, for as long as she lived.

_Not after a kiss...a promise like that_, her mind whispered to herself bitterly. Half moons spun dizzily in her eyes, crescents waning and waxing until she'd gotten her bearings straight. She watched him stalk away from the guest room's hall, to his own quarters, with his words ringing in her head.

He...wanted her. Badly.

Karin, in an effort to settle the maelstrom of her mind, straightened out the velveteen fabric of her dress, evened her breathing, and entered her room to sleep. A content smirk toyed at her lips.

Hitsugaya Toshiro would have no other woman - not while she was still breathing.

There was a war that still waged, and he was ready to end Aizen's life. So she would give him time, give him space, and let him ponder his own reasons. It shouldn't take him that long.

He _was_ a genius, right?

.

.

.

(if you gave me  
>half a moon of a chance<br>i would  
>kiss the incisors<br>out of your mouth, clean  
>and hold them in my<br>own, like chippings  
>from an old mug)<p>

.

.

.

then  
>pray my tongue into<br>a bowl of holy water  
>and ask god to never<br>leave you thirsty.

.

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _I don't even know what this is, to be honest. I've been working on it since June, and then BOOM, I write eight thousand more words within two days. This was meant to be, honestly. I haven't seen this AU before and my heart was demanding it. Thank you so much for reading! I put my heart into this, haha. Maybe some sweat. Lots of OTP tears, though. Remember to review!_


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